Two boys – a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant and a tiny Einstein in leg braces – forge a unique friendship when they pair up to create one formidable human force. A wonderful story of triumph over imperfection, shame, and loss.

Baby Sign Language Made Easy makes it fun and simple to communicate with your little one long before they are able to talk.From clapping their hands in excitement to lifting their arms to be held, babies are naturally inclined to use gestures to communicate. With Baby Sign Language Made Easy you’ll discover 101 useful, everyday signs such as “more”, “all done”, “bed”, “milk” that will help you understand what your child is saying while having fun and strengthening your bond.In Baby Sign Language Made Easy Lane Rebelo, founder of the award-winning Tiny Signs® baby sign language program, delivers the step-by-step guidance that has helped thousands of parents integrate baby sign language into their daily routine. As a busy mother of two, Lane knows that parents don’t have much free time on their hands to learn about baby sign language. Here, she offers simple strategies to learn the basics of baby sign language that will help you get started.Simple and effective, Baby Sign Language Made Easy follows a clear structure that includes:An overview of baby sign language that addresses signing at different ages and developmental milestones10 quick-start signs to get your baby signing right away about topics that are most essential and relevant to their daily lifeA total of 101 illustrated ASL signs that feature memory tips, suggestions for when to use the sign, and advice on how to identify baby’s responseChapters organized by theme—such as Mealtimes & Manners, Bath Time & Bedtime, Family & Feelings, and moreWith Baby Sign Language Made Easy you and your child will quickly learn to communicate about everything that goes on in their little world—and you’ll have fun doing it.

The Underground Toy Society decided to go out on Halloween night to help lost, lonely, and forgotten toys. They ended up falling into a hole that did not belong to their friend Murry Mole, who helps them dig tunnels underground so they won't be seen by people. Will Murry Mole rescue the toys before they find out what is making a mysterious hissing sound?

Janelle's favorite toy was Beary Bear. Janelle took Beary everywhere. During a family road trip, Janelle was too tired to hold onto Beary, and she dropped him. Beary was scared, and Janelle had a hard time at home without her favorite toy. Will Janelle and Beary be reunited? Find out as Murry Mole digs new tunnels underground to help The Underground Toy Society find Beary.

Illus. in full color. Chock-full of information about the most sensitive, intelligent, and friendly of large aquatic creatures, Dolphins! should fare swimmingly with kids who read about whales and sharks.

Are you ready to delve into another fun and exciting travel adventure? George and Paolo hop on a tuk-tuk to explore tropical Thailand, traveling from north to south, through Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi, Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, enjoying the wonders of the country's culture, food, and nature.

A little Pterosaur lives on top of a rocky mountain, where his mother teaches him to be kind and to always help others in need. One day, a huge Tyrannosaurus falls down the mountain and is injured as he tries to catch the little Pterosaur. Remembering his mother’s lesson, the little Pterosaur decides to take care of the injured Tyrannosaurus. As a result of his fall, the Tyrannosaurus temporarily loses his sight, and asks, “Who is there?” The Pterosaur hides and answers, “I am a Tyrannosaurus.” The fifth title in this acclaimed Tyrannosaurus series, I Am a Tyrannosaurus, delivers a heartwarming story about being kind and helping others with vivid, brightly colored illustrations and endearingly drawn characters.

The Underground Toy Society shares their theme song, oath, and poem in a short introduction of who they are and how they help toys and kids. This is a very short book to introduce the concept of The Underground Toy Society to help kids learn to love and appreciate what they have. The goal is to help kids want to keep their rooms clean and to take care of their toys and belongings. While The Underground Toy Society hopes children will clean their rooms after reading the books, there is no guarantee children will want to clean their rooms. That is when The Underground Toy Society will need to step in to help the lost, lonely, or forgotten toys. That is where the other books in the series can be helpful to explain how The Underground Toy Society began and how they actually help toys in need. Other books in the series include The Underground Toy Society, The Underground Toy Society Saves Peggy, The Underground Toy Society and the Annual Toy Drive, The Underground Toy Society Helps Beary Bear, and The Underground Toy Society Halloween Scare.

Poco and Moco are twin lambs. They look almost exactly alike, and they get along so well that they spend every minute of their day together. But they’re also different in a lot of ways. For one thing, Poco is a boy and Moco is a girl. Poco likes breads and rolls, but Moco likes cakes and pastries. They both like donuts, so if they only have one, they split it in half. Poco likes to play hide-and-seek, Moco loves to climb trees. And when they join forces they can do things neither of them could ever do alone.The use of fold-outs, cut-outs, and other special features add an extra element of fun as readers get to know the twins and explore differences and similarities.

Monday, May 21, 2018

BeachBoundBooks is pleased to be coordinating a Book Blast for Lisa & Michael Cohn's newest children's book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts. The blast will run May 21 - May 23, 2018.

Sensitive Bash gets grumpy and disruptive when his life is too bright, too loud, too smelly, or too busy. He counts on his dog, Lucy, to help keep him calm. But Paula, Bash's girl-power cousin, is causing all sorts of trouble. Paula says her soccer team has the right to take Lucy away from Bash because girls deserve the very best canine coaches. And superstar Lucy is the most successful coach around! How can Bash show he respects the girls' rights while keeping dear Lucy by his side? Award-winning mom-son authors Lisa and Michael Cohn have appeared on the Today Show, AM Northwest, and SiriusXM Radio, and in Disney's Babble, as well as other media.

Award-winning mom-son authors Lisa and Michael Cohn have appeared on the Today Show, SiriusXM Radio, AM Northwest, and in Disney's Babble, the Oregonian, and other media outlets. They are founders of the Roving Reader Leaders. Michael and Lisa have "traveled" 540,000 miles and visited students in 15 countries around the world via Skype in the classroom to discuss their books.

Book Blast Giveaway

Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice Giveaway ends: June 4, 11:59 pm, 2018 Open to: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Lisa Cohn and is hosted and managed by Stacie from BeachBoundBooks. If you have any additional questions feel free to send an email to stacie@BeachBoundBooks.com. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, May 14, 2018

BeachBoundBooks is pleased to be coordinating a Book Blast for Author Michael John Sullivan and the SockKids. The SockKids are partners with Friends of Kids With Cancer, a non-profit organization that helps kids be kids during their cancer treatments. We are honored to help out with YOUR help too. The blast will run from April 30 - May 14, 2018.

The Socks

The SockKids – Solving The Mystery Of Your Missing Socks! Where do our missing socks go? Readers find out in our children’s series, The SOCKKIDS. We follow the Socker family through many adventures; from encountering the slobbery mouth of the family dog to meeting Santa as he comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve to helping a fireman save a baby to the most shy Socker going to the school dance for the first time. Thanks to the time-travel opportunities afforded by the spin cycle of the washer, they learn about some of the most important humans in the world. Children two and up and their parents will be drawn to the diversity of the family and the universal and timeless lessons they teach: don’t be afraid of new experiences, treat others as you would like to be treated, and of course, beware of the spin cycle!

Where Do Our Missing Socks Go? We tell you! Readers find out in our children’s series -- The SOCKKIDS. We follow the Socker family through many adventures, from encountering the slobbery mouth of the family dog to meeting Santa as he comes down the chimney to helping a fireman save a baby to the most sky sock going to the school dance for the first time. Thanks to the time-travel opportunities afforded by the spin cycle of the washer, the Sockers learn about some of the most important humans in the world. Children two and up and their parents will be drawn to the journeys of the family and the universal and timeless lessons they teach: don’t be afraid of new experiences, treat others as you would like to be treated, and of course beware of the spin cycle! In this book’s story, we read about Sudsy landing on the foot of inventor Ben Franklin. Sudsy, the bug-playing boy sock, discovers with Ben Franklin the wonders and dangers of electricity. The book includes safety rules and discussion questions put together by an experienced classroom teacher in helping parents and children respect the power of electricity.

The SockKids focus on educating children and adults how bullying affects us all and what we can do about it.

Do you know where your socks go when they go missing in the washing machine? Well, the SockKids know! The SockKids are a mismatched family of socks that sometimes time travel through the spin cycle, teaching universal lessons of love and kindness, and focusing on creating a greater awareness of the many social issues that children are faced with today. The SockKids help to educate and encourage children from 2 to 92 to find solutions in helping to make this a better world.

In this story, Sudsy and Wooly discover their human is being bullied at school and team up against bullies with Ethan’s newest friend, Olivia. They discover bullying hurts everyone and staying silent is not an option.

More Inside! Children’s counselor and licensed therapist, Jamie Ross, gives adults and children guidelines on how to handle bullies.

Michael John Sullivan is the creator of the SockKids. Constantly searching for his socks, he wondered whether the missing foot comforters had found another pair of feet to warm. So he searched and searched, until he discovered these elusive socks likely time traveled. Before his interest in socks, Michael started writing his first novel while homeless, riding a NYC subway train at night. After being rescued off the train, he spent much of the past two decades helping raise two daughters while working at home in New York.

Michael eventually returned to his subway notes in 2007 and began writing Necessary Heartbreak: A Novel of Faith and Forgiveness (Simon & Schuster, Gallery Books imprint). Library Journal named Necessary Heartbreakone of the year’s best in 2010. His second novel, Everybody’s Daughter (Fiction Studio Books, 2012) was named one of the best books of 2012 by TheExaminer.com. He completed the trilogy by having The Greatest Gift published by The Story Plant in 2015.

Michael has written articles about the plight of homelessness for CNN.com, The Washington Post.com, Beliefnet.com, the Huffington Post, and America Online’s Patch.com service. He is a former board member of the Long Island Coalition For the Homeless.

About the Illustrators

Shelley Larkin performs many tasks for the SockKids. She develops ideas, co-writes books, and is the marketing and promotions director. She has spent a lifetime of wondering where her missing socks go. The SockKids are grateful to finally solve this mystery for her.

She loves that children and their parents are drawn to the diversity of the SockKids family and the universal and timeless lessons they teach: don’t be afraid of new experiences; treat others as you would like to be treated, and of course, beware of the spin cycle! In addition, she is dedicated to finding the right soap for Sudsy.

Shelley is also a passionate child advocate, working with a variety of cause-driven organizations such as Destination Imagination, Up & At It!, Child Abuse Prevention Council, 3 Strands, the International Bullying Prevention Center, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Youth Organization. Shelley has developed a keen sense of awareness of what children experience today in dealing with such important issues including bullying and recognizes the importance of putting into place the type of value-added programs that will effectively strike a nerve in preventing our youth from losing their way to a safe and productive future.
​
In her spare time, she is an event planner and resides in California.

Susan Petrone lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband, her daughter, and two silly dogs. When she isn’t writing SockKids stories, she writes novels and short stories (her work has been published in Glimmer Train, Featherproof Books, The Cleveland Review, Muse, Conclave, and Whiskey Island) writes about her beloved Cleveland Indians at ItsPronouncedLajaway.com for ESPN.com’s SweetSpot network. Her most recently, Throw Like A Woman, was published by The Story Plant in 2015.

Alexandra /SugarSnail dreamed of becoming an illustrator since childhood, even though she didn’t know the profession actually existed. She later graduated from college with an MFA in graphic design.

She never gave up on her dream, so she decided to do what she loved best – become a children’s illustrator. SugarSnail’s beautiful artwork can be seen in many children’s books.
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To reach Alexandra Gold/SugarSnail, follow her on Facebook.

Book Blast Giveaways

Prize: One winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card or $50 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice and a second winner will receive One pair of SockKids Socks Giveaway ends: May 14, 11:59 pm, 2018 Open to: Internationally How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
​Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Michael John Sullivan and is hosted and managed by Stacie from BeachBoundBooks. If you have any additional questions feel free to send an email to stacie@BeachBoundBooks.com.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Thirteen-year-old Selah’s life is about as perfect as it gets. She has horsy friends at school, and on weekends, she rides her black mare on Grandpa’s farm. Training the horse to do upper-level liberty work is what makes her heart beat.

But one word can ruin a perfect life—moving.

A move would separate her from her horse, so she plots to get her name on the farm mailbox instead. She’s sure she could persuade Grandpa—except he’s overly distracted by a sheep-loving neighbor.

Determined not to let Grandpa's new sweetheart take her place in his heart, Selah puts her hope in a painted dream horse from Grandpa’s past. When she snugs up the girth and buckles on her spurs, Selah rides to win.

George, Fiona and Marni find a tin of bubbles, not just any ordinary bubbles but planets. The planets shrink the children and take them to faraway lands. The children have many exciting adventures and try not to let their secret be discovered. They learn about different cultures, currencies and languages, and are inspired at school.

In Series Two, George, Marni and Fiona continue their adventures around the world in the planet bubbles. They narrowly escape being killed by some monks in Turkey, find a little companion in Paris and visit royalty in Monaco.

Order Your Copy!

It wasn’t just a small piece of
tin. Curiosity got the better of her and
Marni decided she better keep digging around.
She could see the edges now and it looked like it was a tin box of some
sort. Marni suddenly forgot about her
wish and dug frantically to get the box out.
It was quite a light box of about medium size. It was not painted and there was no writing
on it.

“What on earth could be in it?”
Marni wondered.

It had a small padlock but this
was rusted and broke off easily. She
opened the lid carefully to find nine individually wrapped balls, or so she
thought. She unwrapped one of the balls
to find it was not a ball. In her hand
it shone like a bubble, and was soft and tender to touch. It had little feet and hands and was the
colour of the sun.

“Oh my”, Marni whispered, “It has got a
face!”

The bubble’s eyes were closed
and the mouth still. On the other side
it had the shape of a door, but there was no door handle. How odd.

Marni looked at her watch
quickly. It was six
o’clock which was tea time and
her parents would be calling her any minute.
She hastily re-wrapped the ball and closed the tin. She put her secret wish down the hole and
filled it up with the dark brown coloured soil.

Somehow Marni made it back
inside the house and into her bedroom without anyone seeing the box. She could not wait to show it to George and
Fiona but it would have to wait until after tea. Her hands and knees were filthy dirty now,
and her father questioned her.

“What have you been doing? You
look like a gypsy”.

“Oh, just helping Fiona in the
garden” Marni lied.

Dinner was always a silent
occasion in the Dimond household, and you got your knuckles rapped if you
spoke. Which Fiona did quite often.

Marni wished tea time would
hurry up and finish but she had to wait for the compulsory pudding first. It would either be apple crumble or apple
strudel with ice-cream. Her mother baked
wonderfully, but never seemed to want to try new recipes. Now they were all allowed to leave the table
because everyone had finished but the dishes still had to be dried and put away
after her mother had washed them. It was
the height of the summer and daylight savings time meant that sunset would not
be until about 8.30pm.

Danica-Lea Larcombe has a B.Sc (Environmental Health), a Grad.Dip in Education and has taken courses in Journalism, Travel Writing, and Photography. She is currently undertaking a thesis in Biodiversity and Human Health, and lives with her Japanese Spitz Bella.

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